Evaluation board extends lifetime of module on a single battery

RECOM has released a breakout board to connect SensiEDGE's SensiBLE v1.0 sensor module to their R-78S evaluation board. This technology allows the SensiBLE to draw a stable 3.3V from a AA battery to below voltages as low as 0.65V. Engineers can, therefore, replace the coin-cell battery with a higher-capacity single-cell AA battery and extend operation lifetime on a single battery. The company's breakout board SBL-1 for the R-78S Evaluation Board allows engineers to choose an alternate power source for the sensor module whose input voltage from a coin cell quickly drops below 2V after only a few hours of use. Consequently, the transmission unit may be stopped from operating properly and leaves the energy from the coin cell battery lost. This can be avoided by including the functionality of the R-78S which boosts a single-cell AA battery voltage of 1.5V up to a stable 3.3V - displayed by the R-78S Evaluation Board. Test points for measuring voltages and currents make it possible to easily calculate the typical battery lifetime for the module in both active and standby modes. By contemplating this solution, the engineer can then replace the SensiBLE's coin-cell battery with a higher-capacity single-cell AA battery. Removing the coin cell ensures a much longer application lifetime and at the same time decreases maintenance costs. There is also a choice to use external input voltage from other low voltage sources such as energy harvesting devices which are common in remote applications.